


At The End of All Things

by hannahindie



Category: Supernatural, The Walking Dead
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 16:54:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16896402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahindie/pseuds/hannahindie
Summary: The Winchesters stopped the apocalypse from happening and the Croatoan virus from spreading when Sam said no to Lucifer in 2009. But what happens when the dead start to come back, and the apocalypse happens anyway? And will a group from Alexandria be able and willing to help out our wayward sons?





	1. Rumors

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU/Crossover between Supernatural and Walking Dead. I’ve brought some characters back from the dead since it is an AU, and it’s going to be chock full of ships. This is the first time I’ve written an AU or a crossover, so bare with me while I work out all the kinks. lol I’ve always wondered how the Winchesters would make it in a world full of walkers, so this is my take on it.

_The end. That’s how this story begins. Because truthfully, the end of the world was the start of something else. A whole new world where the living met the dead with a clash of teeth against skin, metal against bone. The world that was supposed to be saved, the one where Sam said no and the battle between Lucifer and Michael never happened, the one that should have been saved from the Croatoan virus, had found itself being destroyed by something else entirely._

_At the end of all things, when the dead outnumbered the living and everything seemed lost, the Winchesters once again took it upon themselves to save the world. Although it seemed like a doomed mission from the start, powered by false hope in less than reliable information, the rest of the ragged group they called their family refused to be left behind. What they didn’t realize was that they would meet an equally tenacious group along the way._

_Sam and Dean Winchester were about to find out that the world had changed far more than they could have ever imagined.  
_

* * *

Dean woke slowly, the sun coming through the partially open blinds warm on his face, and groaned as he stretched out. The soft figure next to him stirred gently as he moved, her long hair cascading over one bare shoulder as she shifted closer to him and slipped a slender arm across his waist. He blinked away sleep and looked down on the still sleeping woman, and a small smile turned up the corner of his mouth. He ran his thumb down her jawline, then carefully tucked a rogue strand of hair behind her ear. She smiled in her sleep and nuzzled into his shoulder.

“ _For the end of the world, this ain’t a bad way to start the day_ ,” he thought to himself as he watched her slowly begin to wake up; her eyes squeezed shut tightly, her legs stretched out first and her toes curled, and then it seemed like the rest of her unrolled as the stretching moved up her body. He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead and her eyebrows drew together as her nose scrunched up and she finally opened her eyes. “Good morning, beautiful,” he said quietly, and she smiled as she closed her eyes again.

“Good morning to you too, handsome. What time is it?”

Dean glanced over at the beat up clock that they’d somehow managed to keep ticking, although whether it was actually accurate remained to be seen, “7:30.”

She sighed, “I’m supposed to work on laundry today. I need to get up.”

Dean moved his hand from her neck slowly down to her breast. “Aww, come on, we can lay here a little bit longer, can’t we?” he asked as he lazily swirled his finger around the pebbled flesh before tweaking her nipple playfully.

“Dean Winchester, that’s how we got in this trouble to start with.”

Dean grinned as his hand wandered further to land on the small bump at her waist, “I don’t think it was any trouble.” He kissed her gently on the neck and smiled against her as her laugh echoed in the quiet room.

“Joanna Beth Harvelle! Quit foolin’ around with that Winchester and get out here and help your mother!”

Jo sighed and sat up as she grabbed her shirt from where it hung on the bedpost, “Duty calls.”

Dean grabbed Jo by the waist before she could stand and kissed her stomach, “Tell that woman the mother of my child should get to sleep in longer.”

Jo shoved him playfully and stood to pull her jeans up, “You tell her that and see what happens.” She bent down and kissed Dean on the forehead. “Everyone’s gotta pull their weight, even baby Winchester.”

There was a faint knock on the door, followed by a muffled voice, “Dean, it’s Sam. We need you outside.” Dean groaned and fell back against his pillow. Jo opened the door and Sam smiled at her. “How’re you doing, Jo?”

She smiled back, “Good, good. What’s going on that you need Dean?”

Sam shrugged, “Could be nothing. Chuck said he had something he needed to talk about. You know how Chuck is.”

Jo laughed, “Yea.” They were interrupted by Ellen yelling for Jo again and she rolled her eyes, “I better go before she has a coronary. See you later.”

Dean sat up and watched as Jo wandered down the hall and turned the corner, then looked back to Sam, “What’s going on?”

Sam was quiet for a moment, then took a deep breath before answering, “Garth and Ash are back.” 

* * *

“Explain it to me again. Like I’m five.”  Dean leaned against the counter, his arms crossed.

Garth smoothed out the map, then pointed to where they were currently located, “This is us. Alexandria is about a six day walk from here, D.C. maybe a half an hour north of that. We made it to about here before we had to stop.” Garth pointed at an area close to Alexandria.

“If it’s only a six day walk, why in the hell were you gone for so long?” Dean asked gruffly.

“It’s a six day walk if you go straight at it. That ain’t what we did. We meandered a bit, stayed as close to cover as we could. I don’t know if you’ve met us, we ain’t exactly you and Sam. Not to say I couldn’t kick some ass, know what I’m sayin’?” Ash flipped his long mullet from his shoulder. Dean narrowed his eyes but remained silent. He had a lot of respect for Ash, but there were moments he could throttle him.

Ash must have noticed and cleared his throat, “Anyway, just in case you missed it the first time, this what we think the compound in Alexandria looks like.” He motioned at Garth to hand him a marker, then slid over a piece of wax paper he’d had Jo bring to him earlier. He carefully laid the wax paper over the map and began tracing over what he and Garth had found. He stopped, leaving one side of the box open.

Sam pointed at the open side, “What about that?”

Garth shrugged, “We don’t know for sure. There was an…incident. Not sure what exactly happened, sounded like they lost a couple of their people, and so we followed them home after. We had to be careful, so we stayed on the outskirts and tried to map out how big of an area it is. It rivals ours. They seem like good people, but we were afraid if we let them see us, they wouldn’t let us leave. They kept that side heavily guarded, so my guess is that’s where the actual entrance is. We got as close to D.C. as we could after that, but between the weather and it just being us…we couldn’t risk it.”

Ash tossed the marker on the table, “I ain’t gonna lie to you, it’s rough out there. I honest to God don’t know if ol’ Dick is up there working on a cure or not. My guess would be no with all those biters everywhere, but if we are gonna try to find him, we’re gonna need more than the two of us. That lab is right in the middle of biter central.”

Sam sighed and looked at Dean, “What do you think?”

Dean stood quietly as he stared at the map, his arms still crossed and eyebrows furrowed. Sam knew that look. It was the look Dean got when faced with an impossible situation that would likely get them both killed, but in the end would be for the greater good. So when Dean looked up at him, still silent but saying so much with just his eyes, Sam squared his shoulders and said the one thing he always said to Dean in this kind of situation.

“When are we leaving?” 

* * *

“Absolutely not! You don’t always have to be the one that fixes things, Dean!”

Dean ran a hand over his face, “Jo, if this cure exists we have to make sure it gets distributed. Dick Roman is…well, he’s a dick. He’ll take advantage of this as much as he can. Me and Sam can stop it-”

“Why? No one expects that! What they expect is for the two people who hold this damn group together to stay here. We don’t know that that cure is real, we don’t even know if that lab is up and running. And you heard Ash and Garth, something bad happened to those people in Alexandria. You’re wanting to go right towards it!” She absent mindedly rubbed her bump, and Dean sighed. He slowly walked towards her and pulled her into him.

“Jo…”

She shook her head, “No, Dean. This world is dangerous enough as it is. You are going to be a father, you can’t be as reckless as you were before.” She pulled away from him and stopped in the doorway, “I love you, but you’re an idiot. Find someone else to go.” She went outside and slammed the door behind her.

“I take it that didn’t go well.”

Dean turned to see Sam standing in the doorway to the kitchen, “You could say that,” Dean scoffed, “How’d it go with Amelia?”

Sam shrugged, “About the same. Didn’t have the baby card to play against me, though. Although I’m not sure I would put it past her.” Sam sighed and sat down at the table, his eyes on the map that Ash and Garth had left behind.

“Why are you even with her, Sammy? Because where I’m standing, it seems like you’re just putting up with her because you don’t want to be alone.”

Sam’s jaw clenched, “Do you think the lab is even a real thing?”

Dean rolled his eyes, “Alright, ignoring our feelings, check. Don’t say I never tried.” Dean sat across from Sam and leaned his head into his hands, “I don’t know, man. I know it’s been years…that rumor could have been from the beginning of the turn. But I don’t see how we can just ignore it. And if we can stop this, if we can save the world for my kid and everyone after us…isn’t it worth it?”

Sam nodded, “Yea…it is.” He ran his hand over the outline that Ash had drawn, “What if we can get these people to help? That could double our force if we were able to make it work.”

Dean sat up and stared at the black outline of Alexandria. It was iffy, getting that group to help them. Especially if they had trouble of their own. But if they were willing…

“I don’t know, Sammy. Who knows if we can trust them, and even if we can, whether they’d be willing to do it is a totally different story. It could be worth a shot though.” Dean stood and shoved his chair in, “We need to talk to Ash and Garth. Maybe we can get a couple others to go with us.”

“What about Jo?”

Dean sighed, “She’s just gonna have to understand. I’m doing this for her. I’m doing it for our kid. I’d do anything for them, even if that means risking my life for an uncertainty if there’s even a fraction of a chance I could keep them safe.” He paused, then looked over his shoulder at Sam, “What about Amelia?”

Sam shrugged, “She’ll come around.” They both moved toward the door to leave, and Sam paused with his hand on the door knob, “It’s not because I’m scared of being alone. She needed someone, and there wasn’t anyone else. I’m just…I love her. It’s just different than you and Jo.” He threw the door open before Dean could answer, but immediately stopped and Dean ran into him.

“What the hell…” Dean trailed off as he saw the group of people standing outside his house.

Ellen and Bobby were at the front of the group, and Bobby took a step forward, “We’ve got some words for you idjits and you’re gonna damn well stand there and listen. You ain’t goin’ on some wild goose chase all by yourselves. If you go, we all go. Family don’t end with blood, boys. And if that ain’t gonna work for ya, you ain’t goin’.”

Dean opened his mouth to argue and immediately shut it. Jo walked over to Dean and grabbed his hands, “Where you go, I go. If it’s important enough to risk your life, it’s important enough for us all to try. You need the manpower, you’ve got it.”

Dean shook his head, “I can’t risk you, Jo. I can’t let you go…”

“Let me? Since when have you ever ‘let’ me do anything? I can take care of myself, but you know I’d be safer with you anyway. You know I’m right.” Dean looked at Jo, then to Bobby and Ellen, and his gaze finally rested on Cas, who was surrounded by an entourage of women as he leaned against a tree with his arms crossed. Cas nodded at him, a grim smile on his face, and Dean looked back at Sam who nodded once and raised his eyebrows.

Dean kissed Jo on the forehead and pulled her close, then surveyed the rest of the group who were looking at him expectantly.

“Well, I guess we’d better get ready. All of us.” He felt Jo tighten her arms around his waist and he hoped that the decision he’d just made didn’t get them all killed.


	2. Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean contemplates what their lives have become the night before their departure. Sam checks in, and Dean convinces him to have a conversation with Amelia that he'd rather not have.

_Westgate: Columbus, OH_

Dean leaned against the trunk of the Impala and looked over the little town they’d managed to build up over the past few years. It had been six years since Zach had zapped him into the future and shown him what their destiny was. Six years since Dean had said ‘screw you’ to destiny and told Sam that they may be each other’s weaknesses, but they were stronger together. That one decision had changed the course of not just their lives, but of every single person they had with them now.

Dean had known the consequences of their actions if they had stayed on their original path; Jo, Ellen, Bobby…all of them would be gone. Sam would have said yes, and Dean would have died along with the rest of their slowly shrinking group of friends. But here they were, their family mostly intact, although maybe a little worse for wear.

Cas had still fallen victim to his dwindling grace and had consequently succumbed to popping whatever pills he could find and having orgies, but the angel seemed happy. Happier than Dean had ever seen him, if he was being honest. The end of the world should have spelled out the end of them, and somehow it had marked a beginning that none of them could have dreamed of having. 

He smiled as he watched Chuck walk across the road, his eyes on the clipboard in his hand and muttering quietly to himself. Dean’s eyes traveled to the house across the street from his, where Cas was sitting on the porch surrounded by several women, the sound of laughter floating across the empty street. Cas looked up and met Dean’s gaze and smiled, then waved and went back to talking to the women currently sitting around his feet. Further down, he could see Jo walking with Ellen, and Dean couldn’t help but chuckle at the little bit of a waddle she had already started to develop due to her growing stomach.

“Sure you want to do this?”

Dean looked over to see Sam walking into the garage. He caught the lukewarm beer Sam tossed to him, cracked the seal, then grimaced as he took the first swig.

“At this point, anything would be better than this beer. Where’ve you been hiding this?”

“Ash made it in his shed. Didn’t have time to refrigerate it yet.”

Dean rolled his eyes, “Not gonna lie to you, Sammy, I don’t think Ash needs to worry about wasting electricity on that. That…that was awful.”

Sam shrugged as he took another sip, “Yea, it is. I thought you might be of the opinion that terrible beer is better than no beer, though.”

Dean smirked, “You aren’t wrong.” He braced himself and took another sip, “Wow, no, that’s really terrible. For the first time in my life, I think I might prefer no beer.” He looked down at the plain brown bottle and rubbed his thumb over where the label would be. “I’m sure, Sam. Not sure about everyone going with us, but I don’t think we have much of a choice in the matter. Not that I’d ever admit it to his face, but I’m pretty sure Bobby could still kick my ass.”

Sam nodded, “Yea…but I think I might be more scared of Ellen.”

Dean laughed, “That’s a fair point.” He glanced at Sam from the corner of his eye, “What about Amelia? Is she going to stay here with the others?”

Sam took a long drag from his beer and smacked his lips together. Dean couldn’t tell if his brother’s eyes were narrowed because the beer was so bad, or because he was contemplating how he should answer. “The short answer, for now, is no. She’s planning on going.”

“Sam-”

“I know. It’s a bad idea, and I tried to explain that to her. She says she’s ready, that she can handle it.”

“Has she been training?” Dean asked as he walked over and sat his beer on the workbench.

Sam rolled his eyes, “You could call it that. She’s going to training, but it doesn’t matter if she could nail every move. She’s reckless, she has an attitude…” Sam sighed, and Dean allowed his brother a moment to collect his thoughts. “I’m not being fair to her. She feels like an outsider, and she kind of is. The rest of us have been through so much together, even before all of this, and I don’t think she understands that. I just…I don’t know that she could protect herself, much less everyone else.”

“Sam, you need to talk to her again. We need people to stay here anyway…maybe if she realizes that’s important, she’ll stay. And when you do it, try not to make that face you always make when you think you’re right and the other person is wrong. It doesn’t help.”

“What face are you talking about?” Sam questioned as he dumped out the rest of his beer and tossed the empty bottle in the trash.

“ _That_ face, the one you’re making right now,” Dean emphasized with his pointer finger. “You mean well, but you sound a little condescending when you’re trying to convince someone your plan is the better one. So just…don’t, okay? I don’t know how to tell you how not to do that, but just try, man.” He clapped Sam on the shoulder, “Good luck. You’ve got about twelve hours to convince her.”

“And if I can’t?”

Dean shrugged, “She comes with us, and she’ll learn to do her part. Everyone has to pull their weight, even baby Winchester.” Dean winked as he pulled the garage door shut, and Sam gave him a tight lipped smile.

“Yea, you’re right. It’ll be fine. I’ll see what I can do.”

Sam walked off, his hands shoved in his pockets, and Dean sighed. Sam was going to need all the luck he could get.

* * *

“I am going!” Amelia hissed, her hands on her hips. Sam leaned against their kitchen counter, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. He had thought he had the conversation planned out well enough that he could avoid the argument that was probably inevitable, but as soon as he said ‘Amelia, we need to talk’, she had interrupted him and not quit talking. She had finally stopped and now waited expectantly for his response. He stared at her for a long moment as he carefully considered what he should say, Dean’s warning of keeping his face in check echoing in his mind.

“Sam!”

He sighed, “Amelia, I understand why you want to go. You want to be helpful and contribute, but the best way to do that is to stay here. We need people to stay behind and keep this place running until we get back. Risa and Jane are staying behind, so is Kevin-”

“I don’t give a shit who is staying behind. We’ve gone this long without anything going wrong, why do I need to stay behind and protect it? This place is the most fortified camp in the tri-state area. I’m assuming Jo is going, despite the fact that she’s five months pregnant? But I guess that’s because her husband wants her around.”

Sam looked at her in surprise, “That’s the exact reason why we need people to stay! Eventually, someone is going to find this place. They’re going to want to take it. We need people to make sure that doesn’t happen, and that those that can’t travel stay safe. And Jo going is between Jo and Dean, it’s not our business. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“You’re leaving me! You want me to stay here because you don’t want me to go with you. I’m just some girl you saved because you had to, and now you’re with me because who else are we supposed to have? Quit being a chicken shit and just tell me that’s what’s going on, but quit trying to talk me out of going and giving me bullshit reasons! ” She looked up at Sam, her lip quivering and her eyes brimming with tears, and Sam’s resolve broke.

Sam couldn’t deny what she said was at least partially true. He remembered the day he had found her, surrounded by the dead and alone, half-heartedly swinging a machete and sobbing. He had known he couldn’t let her die, and he had somehow managed to kill every single biter before she had been torn apart. She had looked at him with a shine in her eyes ever since, like she was looking at her very own knight in shining armor. He had tried to ignore it, but their camp had still been small then, and being in such a confined space it had been hard to stay away from her. Over time he had grown a fondness for her, and although he was sure that it didn’t match how she felt about him, he’d decided that it had been enough for both of them. Dean had been right; it was more a relationship of convenience, but Sam did love her in his own way, and it occurred to him that he didn’t always show it.

He sighed and held out his arms, “C’mere, I’m sorry, Amelia. You know that’s not true.” She fell into him, and he could feel her shoulders shake as she cried against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head under his chin, “I’m sorry, babe, you don’t have to stay. I just…I trust you to take care of our home. If you want to come with us, you can. Okay?” He gently moved her out to arm’s length and looked her in the eyes, “But you have to be ready for anything. It’s not going to be an easy trip, it’s going to be dangerous, and you have to be ready to fight for everyone not just yourself. You know? It’s not just about the two of us. It’s about our family.”

Amelia nodded and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, “I know, I understand. I can do it, Sam. I can.”

Sam smiled at her gently and brushed a few rogue strands of hair behind her ear, “That’s my girl. We’re leaving tomorrow, so get packed up, okay? Keep it light, just the important things.” She nodded and left the room, and Sam collapsed heavily into one of the kitchen chairs.

That went about as well as he had expected. He ran a hand across his tired eyes and wondered if he was going to regret his choice to let her go.


	3. Saying Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys tidy up loose ends before taking their group on the road. Dean gives those remaining behind some words of encouragement, and gives Kevin an unexpected responsibility.

Dean gave one last long look at the Impala before sliding the garage door shut and locking it.

“You sure you want to leave Baby behind?” Dean turned to see Jo standing at the edge of the driveway, her hand resting gently on her stomach. He smiled at her, enthralled by the way the sun shone off of her hair.

“She’s too loud and heavy. If we had to off-road it, she’d never make it. It’s too dangerous.”

“For Baby or for us?” Jo asked, laughing.

Dean closed the space between them and pulled her into him as he kissed the top of her head, “Would you judge me if I said both?”

“Only a little. I won’t tell anyone.” 

They turned and made their way towards the town center, their fingers laced loosely. Today was the day. The day they risked everything for the slim possibility of finding a cure. Dean had begun to have second thoughts, but when he had walked outside this morning and saw those that were leaving saying goodbye to those staying behind, their faces full of hope, he had realized it was for the best. It may have been a wild goose chase, but at least they were trying. None of them had survived this long to just _not_ try. As Dean and Jo approached the makeshift town square, he saw Sam leaning over one of the tables as he studied a map.

“Sammy, everything ready to go?”

Sam nodded, “Yep. We’ve got the quietest cars gassed up and packed. Garth is checking a few last minute things so we can stay in touch with Kevin. I’m going to make one more perimeter sweep, make sure the fences are secure, and I think we’re pretty much ready to head out.”

Dean clapped Sam on the back, “Great, man, sounds good.” People were beginning to fill up the square, their voices low as they gathered to say their last minute goodbyes. Bobby and Ellen were slowly making their way towards them, and Dean watched as Bobby slung an arm around Ellen’s shoulder and pulled her closer. She laughed at whatever it was he whispered in her ear, and Dean wondered if they should stay behind. He would give anything to watch them live out their lives safe and sound, and this mission almost guaranteed that that wouldn’t happen. As they approached him, Bobby caught his eye and grinned. He’d never listen to Dean; the only man he’d ever known to be more hard headed than his real father was his adopted one.

“Well, son, it’s about time. You sure you wanna do this?”

Dean nodded, “Yea, I’m sure. You?”

Bobby shrugged, “About as sure as I’m gonna get.” He looked over the crowd that was gathering and grunted, “Wish they’d just let us sneak outta here, I ain’t good with goodbyes.”

Dean chuckled, “You and me both, old man. You and me both.”

Bobby narrowed his eyes at Dean, “Watch who you’re callin’ old, boy. I can still kick your damn ass.”

Dean threw his hands up as if surrendering, “I don’t doubt it.” He looked around and saw Sam off in the distance, checking the fences one last time. Amelia was alone off to the side, leaning against a tree. He caught her eye and she stared at him silently. He gave her a tight lipped smile, but instead of returning it, she pushed away from the tree and walked towards where Sam was looping back around. Dean looked at Ellen and she shrugged; none of them ever knew what Amelia was thinking, and though they all tried to include her, she did not make it easy.

“Heyo Deano, I got Kev all set up. That equipment is as tight as the mini skirt on a White Snake groupie.” Ash hopped up onto the picnic table, his feet on the bench, and leaned back as he looked at Dean.

Dean stared at Ash for a moment, unsure of how to respond, “Umm…thank you, Ash, for that colorful and…confusing description.”

“No problemo. I left some instructions for him in case something went wrong, but I don’t think he’ll have any problems. It’s on a backup battery in case the the power grid goes down, and I got ‘em set up with a generator that is just for emergencies, so, they ought to be square for awhile. Are we gettin’ this party started or what?”

“Yea, we’re just waiting on Sam to get back from his last perimeter sweep and it’ll be time to go, I think.” He watched Cas go down the line of women he was constantly surrounded by, giving each one of them a hug and a kiss, and Dean had to bite back a laugh. If anyone had told him that Castiel, Angel of the Lord, would be high as balls all the time and into…whatever it was you wanted to call what he was into, he would have laughed in their face. He sauntered over and stopped next to Dean, who raised his eyebrows at the former angel. “You good?”

“Oh, yea. I’m great.” He stretched, “I need a break, anyway. You know how tiring it is to make love to that many women every night?”

Jo glanced over at Dean, a smirk on her face, “Well, Dean? Do you?”

Dean shook his head, “This is a trap, isn’t it? It’s a trap. But no, Cas, I don’t know. I would guess that it’s probably a hard time.” Jo snorted at his perfectly timed pun, and Dean elbowed her gently in the arm. “Shut up. Sinner.”

The rest of their little community were making their way over to where the main group was as Sam and Amelia made their way back towards the picnic tables.

Bobby leaned in close to Dean and whispered, “They’re gonna expect a speech. Give ‘em what they want so we can get the hell out of here, huh?”

Dean inwardly groaned. He was not much of one to give a speech, but Bobby was right. As he looked out over the crowd, their eyes were all on him. He wasn’t sure if he could say they were filled with hope. He was sure that most of them realized this was probably a dead end endeavor, but what he saw was trust. It didn’t matter the outcome of this, in the end.  What mattered was that they trusted him, they trusted in their family, and that was enough to fully convince Dean that what they were doing was right. Sam slowed to a stop at the back of the group, Amelia attached firmly to his side, and nodded. It was time.

Dean took a deep breath, looked at Jo, then back out to the crowd standing in front of him, and began.

“As you all know, we are heading out today to follow a lead that Garth and Ash received about a cure. Now, I’ll be the first to tell you that I think it’s a slim chance…the world that we knew has been gone for a long time, and for someone to still be working on a cure…well…it’s unlikely. But I think we all also know that Dick Roman is a tenacious bastard, so if anyone survived the hellscape out there and is working on a way to flip the switch, it would be him.” A quiet wave of laughter swept through the crowd, and Dean felt Jo squeeze his hand in encouragement.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen out there. It’s dangerous, and we’ve got a hell of a road to travel to get to Roman’s lab, nevermind getting inside. We may not even find anything. But I can’t sit by, knowing that there’s even a slim chance, and not even try. Some of you I have known for a long time. Some of you I’ve just met. But as far as I’m concerned, every single one of you are a part of my family, and I will do anything I can to keep you safe. We will do anything.”

A cheer rose, and Dean felt a faint flush creep across his cheeks. Sam smiled gently at him and gave him another nod, prompting him to keep going.

“Thanks to Ash, we have a way to keep in touch with all of you, and I know that you are going keep our homes safe. We are leaving you behind so that our little community can thrive. Remember to help those that you might find, and to use your best judgements. Hopefully we won’t be gone long, and we’ll be back before you know it. Now, I’m going to quit yapping so that we can get moving. Thanks for everything you do, and we’ll see you soon.”

Everyone cheered again, then moved in to give those that were leaving one last goodbye.

Dean reached out and grabbed Kevin’s arm as he was passing, “I need to talk to you.”

“Sure thing, man, what’s up?”

Dean stared at Kevin for a moment, surprised by how grown up he looked compared to when they first met, and smiled at him. Kevin’s brows knitted in confusion, “Are you okay?”

Dean nodded, “Yea, I’m fine. Uh, listen, thanks for staying behind, taking care of everything. I know you didn’t ask for that when you tagged along with us.”

Kevin shrugged, “I’m used to saving your asses, so this is nothing.”

“Yea, yea yea…” Dean paused as he slipped his hand into his pocket, “I need you to do one more thing for me.”

“Sure thing, Dean, anything.” Dean removed his hand and slipped a cool, metal ring into Kevin’s hand. Kevin looked down with wide eyes as he took in the smooth silver key, then looked back up at Dean. “Are you sure?” It came out as a whisper.

“Yea. I can’t take her with us. She’s not built for travel like this, and I don’t want to lose the keys. I locked up the garage this morning, she should be fine…just…keep an eye out, alright? I don’t know what’s going to happen out there…and I need to make sure someone knows where she is and will appreciate her. It might be the end of the world, but my baby deserves more than just sitting somewhere, rusting. So…keep her safe.”

Kevin looked back down at the keys, then carefully tucked them into his pocket, “I know the perfect place for them. You better come home, though. I don’t know enough about cars, and I need someone to teach me.”

Dean gripped Kevin’s shoulder tightly, “I..uh…I’m proud of you, Kevin. You’ve had a lot of shit thrown at you, and…well, you’re a lot different than when we met. What I’m trying to say is…just take care of yourself, okay?” Kevin nodded, unsure of what else to say, and Dean pulled him in for a quick hug before clearing his throat and straightening his jacket. “Alright, well, enough of that. We’ll be back soon. Baby better be in one piece when we get back.”

He stomped off and Kevin’s hand wandered back down to his pocket, his fingers tracing the outline of the key ring through the worn denim of his jeans. The moment Dean had handed him the keys, Kevin realized just how serious this was, and he was terrified this was the last time he’d see any of them. He slowly walked the rest of the way to the town center to join the crowd that were migrating towards the gates.

* * *

By the time Dean made it to the front gate, everyone had loaded up in their respective cars but him. He climbed in next to Jo and looked through his open window to the small crowd of people standing by the open gate. Charlie stood next to Kevin, her bright red hair shining beautifully in the sun. She waved at him, and Dean threw his hand up in return. And for a moment, he wondered if they should have brought her along. It was hard enough to leave everyone else, but Charlie…

He felt Jo’s hand slip over to his knee and squeeze gently, “You ready?”

Dean nodded, “Yea. Yea…let’s do this.” He started the car and rolled slowly through the gate. If all went as planned and they could drive most of the way, it should only take a couple of days to navigate the blocked roadways, then maybe a couple of days to locate the building and Dick Roman, and then a couple of days back. In all, the trip shouldn’t take more than seven days, ten if they were unlucky.

The creak of the gate closing behind them was almost deafening in the otherwise quiet neighborhood, and Dean took a deep breath.

There was no turning back now.


	4. A Road to Nowhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So far, the road to a cure has been smooth sailing, until they hit a small river city that's been affected by the recent storms. Tragedy nearly strikes, leaving one of the group injured, and Dean has to decide if they can keep moving. More than just the dead are watching as they consider their options.

_The group traveled through the forsaken landscape slowly, but surely. It was a difficult road; cars blocked long stretches of the cracked asphalt, so they often had to stop and move the rusting and broken down metal behemoths, reminders of what the world had looked like before it came to a screeching halt. The drive from Columbus, Ohio to Washington, D.C., according to the worn map that Sam had been consulting, should have been just a little under seven hours. Seven hours in their new world could stretch into days, and by the end of their first day, Dean had stopped their caravan just outside of Wheeling. He had been optimistic, and although everyone was tired from having to shift cars to the shoulder of the road, killing those that had been trapped in their steel coffins, and searching for anything that would be helpful that had been left behind, it seemed that everyone’s spirits were high. Despite the dangers of traveling across open territory, Dean had been relieved to finally be free of the walls that they’d been living behind for years. He knew that the walls kept them safe, probably safer than he and Sam had been their entire lives, but he had missed cruising along back roads with the windows down and Zeppelin blasting. It was amazing that their lives from before the turn seemed so simple compared to now._

_That feeling ended as soon as they hit West Brownsville the next day, and Dean quickly realized that the things they took for granted could easily be the things that got them killed._

* * *

The stark contrast of the scene in front of Dean was almost painful. The morning had welcomed him with one of the most beautiful sunrises he had seen in a long time; the sky had looked like a watercolor painting. Muted oranges and bright yellows against a bright blue horizon that was scattered with deep purple and pink clouds that reminded him of the cotton candy he would buy for Sam at carnivals when John had left them on their own as kids. He had been awake before anyone else, and had marveled at the juxtaposition of colors for almost an hour before Jo sleepily shuffled from the car and looped her arm through his. He wished he had the words to really describe to her what he’d been looking at, but that was more Sam’s bag. Instead, he’d pulled her tighter into his side and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. After a quick breakfast, they’d all piled back into their cars and continued their journey, and Dean’s optimism had soared when they didn’t have to stop every ten minutes to clear the road.

And then they came across West Brownsville.

The small town had welcomed them with its aging, brownstone buildings, remnants of old store signs painted on their sides, and narrow streets still lined with rusting meters. Although Sam was in the other car, Dean knew that he was loving every minute of this historic, ‘blink and you’d miss it’ city. They drove slowly down the main drag, and Dean couldn’t help but appreciate the old architecture that had withstood not only the years of weather but the lack of care as the dead slowly outnumbered the living and there was no one left to give it the love the old buildings deserved.

It had been surreal to see the random walkers as they stumbled out of alleys at the sound of the cars, even after all this time. After the turn, it seemed all the supernatural things that they had hunted had just…disappeared. He was sure that wasn’t the case, and driving through this town reminded him that just because he couldn’t see them, didn’t meant they weren’t still there. The dead may have taken over, but this was a literal ghost town. A shiver passed through him and he wondered if Sam had felt it too.

Because the roads had been relatively clear between Wheeling and West Brownsville, it had only taken about an hour to arrive. Although the colors had somewhat dimmed as the sun rose, the sky was still a magnificent stripe of color and Dean could see the sparkle of water as the sun reflected off of it. The Monongahela River wound its way lazily between West Brownsville and its sister city, splitting the two in half, which had led the group to the bridge that connected the two. Dean had immediately slammed on his brakes as the scene he most dreaded unfolded in front of him.

That was how he found himself standing where the watercolor sky met sharp metal and broken asphalt, the rebar jutting out like jagged teeth begging to be fed. At some point, the bridge had collapsed, and the road slanted down at an awkward angle, ending in the water and balancing precariously against several cars that had gone down with it. His eyes roamed over the ruined bridge as he looked for the cause of the destruction. There did not appear to be any singular reason; if anything, it was simply time and lack of care. He could see where the river had risen significantly, the mud line still visible, and Dean assumed the combination of weather, the weight of the cars, and the general disuse of the bridge had caused the collapse.

“Well…this is not ideal.” Dean jumped at the sudden sound of Cas’ voice and looked at him sharply.

“No, Cas, it’s not.” He looked back at the slow moving water and wondered how deep it was. “Think there’s another bridge around here anywhere?”

Cas shrugged, “I do not know. I would imagine there probably is, but how far are we going to have to go to find it? Not to mention, this is a pretty large bridge, so my assumption would be any other crossings nearby would be smaller. If this one is gone, there is a huge chance any other bridges of smaller stature would be destroyed as well.”

Dean tilted his head back and closed his eyes as he tried to keep it together. They could look for other bridges, they could find another way around, but the longer they stayed outside their walls, the likelihood of them making it to D.C. and back with everyone alive, and well, dropped. “What the hell are we going to do?”

“We could take a car and drive a few minutes each direction, see if any of the bridges did survive and meet back here. We could also ask Ash and Garth how they got past this, and give them something of use to talk about. If I thought my father was still around, I’d pray to him and beg for either them to be stricken silent, or for me to spontaneously become deaf.” Cas reached into his pocket and pulled out a battered orange bottle, tapped out a couple of pills, and popped them into his mouth.

Dean rolled his eyes, “Is that really necessary right now? Can you just…not be high?”

Cas smirked, “I mean, I could. But where is the fun in that?” He sauntered off to tell the rest of the group the plan, and left Dean staring dejectedly at the rubble. 

* * *

While Sam and Cas drove in opposite directions, they had decided on a ten minute drive out and then back along the river, Dean was talking to Garth and Ash about their trip towards D.C.

“So you came this way and everything was fine? The bridge was still here, nothing seemed off?”

Ash shrugged, “Nah, man. I mean, it’s been weeks since we went this way, but that bridge was as fit as a fiddle when we crossed it.” Garth grimaced and Dean raised an eyebrow.

“Do you not agree with him, Garth?” Dean asked.

“Well…I somewhat do. The bridge was here and mostly intact, but it didn’t seem super stable. I didn’t mention it because I honestly thought it would be okay, but I forgot about the big storm that passed through. If it hadn’t been for that, I think it would still be standing. We probably would have needed to be careful, but it would have been here. Since we came back a different way, I didn’t even think about it. Sorry, Dean.”

Dean clapped Garth on the shoulder, “It’s fine, Garth. I think despite it being the end of the world, we still kind of take things for granted…this isn’t an exception.” He looked up at the sound of Sam and Cas returning, and tried not to feel too much hope that they found anything. Sam stepped down out of his truck, and Dean looked at him expectantly. Sam frowned and shook his head, then walked over to where Bobby and Ellen were still looking at the map that was unfolded across the trunk of their car. Dean turned his attention to Cas who also shook his head.

“Dammit!” He walked briskly to where Sam was leaning against the car, both palms flat on the hood as he stared intently at the map. “Tell me you have an idea.”

Sam stood straight and swept the hair from his face, “I have an idea. But I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

Dean grunted, “Try me.”

Sam grabbed Dean’s arm and pulled him to the edge of the bridge. “Do you notice anything about this river?”

Dean shook his head, “Other than it’s in my damn way, no. I don’t.”

Sam sighed, “Look. Really look at it.”

“Sam, we don’t have time-”

“Okay, fine. It’s moving slow and it’s not that deep, considering the amount of rain, right? Clearly it flooded, but I think that it’s at it’s normal level right now. Do you agree?”

“Yea, but what’s that got to do with anything?”

“There is a series of locks and dams just a few miles east of here. Which means, at its normal levels, this river is kept at a minimum of nine feet. We don’t have to take the cars, we can just cross here on foot and find cars on the other side.”

Dean looked at Sam like he’d grown a second head, “Are you serious right now? Have you seen those riverbanks? This side is fairly low, but the other side…we’ve got Bobby and Ellen to worry about, and Jo…Jo is five months pregnant. She can’t climb that. Plus, even if it’s at it’s lowest, nine feet is still really deep.”

Sam gave an exasperated sigh, “I never said anything about climbing the river bank, or swimming across.” He pointed towards the middle of the river, just below where the bridge had collapsed. “The angle of the bridge is doable, Dean. We can walk down the bridge, and hop the cars across to the other side. It won’t be a cakewalk, but I think it will work.” He looked at Dean, his expression hopeful, and Dean looked back out over what was left of the bridge.

Sam wasn’t wrong. Luck had been with them somewhat; the cars appeared to be lined up and at just the right angles that it could work. The sloped piece of the bridge was a little steep, but if they were careful…

“Let’s do it. Unpack what we can carry from the cars. We’ll come back for them.” He whistled to get everyone’s attention, “I need everyone over here, we’ve got a plan.” 

* * *

Dean watched as Cas, Garth, and Ash slowly navigated the steep section of broken concrete and asphalt. Aside from a few small slips, all three of them made it down and halfway across the bridge of cars.

Ash turned around and waved, “These cars are jammed tighter than a nun’s knees, man! They ain’t goin’ anywhere, c’mon!” He shouted through cupped hands. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Dean had to chuckle.

“Make it all the way across and maybe I’ll believe you!” He shouted back. It occurred to him briefly that yelling probably wasn’t a great idea, but it was too late now. Ash flipped him off, but hopped down to the next car. Cas and Garth followed close behind, and within a couple minutes, all three of them had scuttled up the slight embankment from the last car safely. He turned to Bobby, “Alright, old man, your turn.”

Bobby glared at Dean, “If you don’t stop callin’ me old man, I’m gonna kick your ass, boy.”

Ellen grabbed Bobby’s hand and tugged him to the edge of the pavement where it sloped down, “Why don’t we get our happy asses across this river first, and then you boys can settle it, huh? I’ve had about enough of West Brownsville.” Bobby grumbled all the way down but both he and Ellen made quick work of it, and Dean was surprised by how easily they passed over the cars. He breathed a sigh of relief and made a mental note to quit teasing Bobby for being older. He moved better than Dean did.

“Alright Sammy, I think the four of us can go at once. You take the lead, and I’ll cover the rear. Girls, in the middle.” Amelia gripped Sam’s hand tightly as they made their way down the chunk of concrete but made no effort to steady Jo. Dean frowned, but Jo just shook her head, and gently shuffled her feet as she descended to the car. Sam hopped across the gap and helped Amelia, then shifted so that he could help Jo across. Dean couldn’t help but notice the jealous glare that Amelia shot at Jo as Sam lifted her from the asphalt slab and onto the roof of the car. Dean and Amelia locked eyes and she gave him a tight lipped smile, but it was too late; Dean had already seen her shoot daggers at both Sam and Jo. He hurried across the gap and Sam once again took the lead, carefully stepping over exposed steel and concrete slabs and testing out footing before having the others follow him.

Just as they got to the second to last car, Amelia screamed. Somewhere between the separate groups stomping their way across the cars, a lone biter had managed to wriggle free from its watery grave and had grabbed Amelia by the ankle. As she pulled backwards, she began to pinwheel her arms in an attempt to keep her balance. Jo tried to step back, but because they were already crowded together on a small hood, she lost her balance and slipped between two of the cars, her leg jamming between the bumpers.

“Jo!” Dean dropped to his knees on the car he was still standing on and pulled her back up and onto the trunk, “Are you okay?! Fucking hell, Amelia, what was that?!” Sam had whipped around with his machete and cut the walker’s hand off Amelia’s ankle, then had delivered the final blow to its skull. He was now comforting Amelia who had collapsed into sobs.

“I didn’t mean to! It grabbed me and I thought it was going to bite me!” Amelia wailed as she clung to Sam tightly.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Dean, it’s okay. I’m fine.” Jo grimaced as she stood, and Dean saw that her jeans had ripped and blood was soaking the light denim.

“You’re not fine, look at your leg. Can you walk on it?”

Jo nodded, “Yes, it’s fine. Let’s just get to the other side, okay?” Dean opened his mouth to say something else to Amelia, but between Jo putting a hand on his chest and Sam looking at him pleadingly, he snapped it shut.  

They made it the rest of the way without incident, and Jo sat heavily in the grass. Ellen rushed over and knelt next to her daughter as Dean pulled her pants leg from her calf. An ugly gash ran down her leg, and it was deep enough that it needed stitches. “Shit, Jo…I have to stitch this. Ellen, can you get in Sam’s bag and get the whiskey and the first aid kit?” Sam swung his bag from his shoulder and handed it to Ellen.

She sat next to Jo and watched as Dean got out what he needed. Jo grabbed her hand, and Ellen gripped Jo’s tightly. “What the hell happened out there?”

Jo grimaced, “Nothing anyone had any control over. There was a walker in the water that jostled loose as everyone crossed, and it grabbed Amelia. There wasn’t much room and I slipped. So see, it’s fine. At least I didn’t get bit.”

Dean grunted, “If someone didn’t act like a damn baby, you wouldn’t have fallen. I knew it was a mistake bringing her. If it had been any worse than this-”

“But it wasn’t,” Jo interrupted, “I’ll be fine. Just hurry up with that will ya, it’s not like it tickles.”

Dean finished stitching up Jo’s leg and helped her up, “Alright. Let’s get going. We need to find some cars or a place to crash for the afternoon so you can rest that leg a little bit.” As they began to walk down the road, Cas moved in next to Garth.

“Hey, buddy.”

“Hello, Garth.”

“What’s up?”

“I feel someone watching us. It is different than the dead ones. Keep an eye out, and tell Ash. I do not want to bother Dean with it just yet…but something is off.” He wandered off on his own, and Garth couldn’t help but look around to see if Cas’s intuition was right. He hoped that he wasn’t.

* * *

“What are we gonna do about that?” Daryl grumbled. Aaron looked through the binoculars at the ragtag group of people walking in their direction.

“I don’t think we need to do anything about it right now. They seem like decent enough people, and it looks like the one girl is hurt.”

Daryl grunted, “Ain’t nobody decent enough lookin’, anymore.”

Aaron sighed, “You didn’t seem to think that when we were out looking for survivors before. Why don’t you radio Rick and see what he thinks?”

“Do you really wanna bring these people into the mess we’re in right now? Ya might as well just leave ‘em out here to get eaten.”

“Daryl, I don’t think you mean that. Besides, with the way they navigated that bridge, they may be handy people to have around. Radio Rick.”

Daryl rolled his eyes but pulled the radio from his back pocket and pushed the button. “Hey, Rick, got yer ears on, man?”

_“Yea, go ahead.”_

“We got a group of….looks to be about nine. Headin’ towards Alexandria, looks like at least one of ‘em is hurt.” He released the button and squinted. “Hand me those binoculars.” Aaron tossed them over and Daryl stared at the two heading up the back of the group. “Looks like the injured one is expectin’.”

The radio was silent for a moment, then there was a crackle, _“Watch ‘em. If they seem okay, ask ‘em the questions. If not…you know what to do.”_

“Gotcha, brother.” Daryl slid the radio back into his back pocket. “Happy now?”

Aaron smiled, “Actually, yes. Yes, I am.” The two men quietly began to follow the small group, keeping a safe distance until the time was right.


	5. Alexandria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finds themselves in a dire situation, and for the first time since they left camp, Dean loses hope of them surviving. That is, until two strangers come to their aid. Dean must decide if he can trust the two newcomers, especially with Jo's condition worsening. Sam runs into someone from his past.

_The end of the world comes with its complications. Normal, everyday problems become impossible to navigate, common injuries become life threatening, and trusting people is even less commonplace than before the world went to shit. Unfortunately, Dean will have to make decisions based upon the world’s new rules. Decisions that will determine the fate of everyone in his group._

Dean held his hand up, silently stopping the group that had been following him through the woods. Up until this point they had been sticking to the road, but when Garth and Ash had gone ahead to scout the area they had returned with expressions that Dean didn’t need an explanation for. A large herd of walkers were blocking their path, and the only way they’d be able to keep going in the direction they wanted was if they went off road. Ash had mentioned that not even that would guarantee safe passage. He and Garth were unable to see the far edges of the herd, but at this point it was the only option they had.

But then Dean heard the snapping of twigs, followed by a larger crash, and his heart stopped. He glanced at Cas, who frowned and shook his head, and Dean motioned for everyone to get down. Jo fell into his side as they knelt, and she covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her cry of pain. Dean helped her sit down and, as quietly as he could, pulled back the makeshift bandage he had wrapped around her calf. The wound had become an angry red and was warm to the touch.

“We need to stop,” Dean whispered to Sam, who had passed the rest of the line to see what the hold up was.

“Dean, we can’t stop. We’re too close to that herd, we’ve got to find a place to hide,” Jo hissed, her eyes narrowed in pain as Sam gently ran his fingers over her swollen skin.

Dean shook his head, “Jo-”

“No,” she interrupted, “I can keep going. We have to keep going.”

Dean looked at Sam pleadingly, as if he thought his brother intervening would help change Jo’s mind. Sam glanced at Jo, who frowned at him, then back to his brother. “I have some pain medicine in my bag… We’re out of penicillin, but maybe that will help until we find somewhere to go.” He slipped his backpack off and shuffled through the contents before finally pulling out a worn pill container and a bottle of water. He handed them to Jo, then settled back on his haunches while he waited for her to take them. Dean opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Cas.

“Dean, we have a problem.” 

Dean rolled his eyes, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we have quite a few problems.”

Cas narrowed his eyes, “We’ve got a slightly more pressing problem. The herd has broken up, but there is a significant portion heading this way. I can’t tell how far they are. If we were at home and at full power, it would be fine, but this…” he looked over at Jo, “…we don’t have the strength or numbers.”

Jo sighed, “You guys go on, I don’t want to hold you back-”

“ **No** ,” Dean growled, his eyes flicking toward Amelia, “I am not leaving you behind. None of us are. We can take care of it, we’ve handled worse.”

“Dean, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Cas said quietly, his eyes down as he tried to avoid looking at his best friend.

Dean jerked around to look at Cas, rage etched into his face, “Are you suggesting we leave Jo behind? Because that’s absolute bullshit, and I am not leaving my wife and unborn child.”

“That wasn’t what I meant, Dean. We can’t stay here, Jo can’t run. My grace is nearly nonexistent, but perhaps I can carry her. I may not be able to heal her, but I can do that. Please, Dean. We have to move.”

Dean looked at Jo, silently asking her approval, and she nodded. “Okay, fine. Just…be careful. I’ll watch your back.” Just as Cas picked Jo up, Ash hurried back from scouting, his chest heaving as he gulped in as much oxygen as he could get. Dean put a hand out to steady him, “What’s wrong?”

“There’s…aw hell…there’s a big group of those sonsabitches headin’ this way. Whatever plan ya’ll cooked up ain’t gonna amount to shit. Garth might have better news, but…I think we’re gonna have to fight our way out of this one.”

Dean sighed. Despite his earlier claim of being able to win, the look on Ash’s face had given him some doubt. The sound of a twig snapping made him jerk around, his pistol aimed at the source of the sound. Garth was holding his hands up, a sheepish smiled plastered on his face.

“Dammit, Garth, I could have shot you. What’s it look like in that direction?” Dean asked as he lowered his gun.

“Not great. It looks like they’re circling back this way. If they don’t have us surrounded, I’d be surprised. It’s a smaller group than before, but…I don’t know, Dean. If we were home…” Garth trailed off as Dean’s glare seemed to pierce through him.

“Well, we aren’t home, so we have to work with what we’ve got. Thinking about home isn’t going to help a damn thing.” He dropped his head and closed his eyes as he tried to think of a way out of this mess.

“Dean…” Sam’s voice was soft but urgent.

“What?” Dean snapped, immediately regretting it when he saw Sam’s face.

“They’re coming.” Sam motioned to the rest of the group and, without speaking, they shifted to form a circle around Cas and Jo. “Stay in the circle, use your machetes, knives, anything but guns. Stay as quiet as you can for as long as you can.”

Dean stood close to Cas and Jo, his eyes shifting around the woods as the low groans and loud shuffling of the undead came closer and closer. Dean had holstered his gun in favor of the machete he kept at his side, and he gripped it tightly as the first of the walkers came into view.

“C’mon, you nasty son of a bitch…”

As soon as the closest walker approached him, he struck it in the skull, pulling the blade out with a sickening pop as it fell to the ground. The group moved like clockwork; as walkers approached they struck out, immediately moving back to the shifting circle before they could get separated. It seemed to be a never ending stream of death, and the stream was getting bigger and more difficult to attack.

“Dean, there are too many, we can’t keep doing this!” Sam shouted over the sounds of grunting and weapons clashing against bone. “We’ve gotta run!”

Dean swiftly cut off the head of one walker, then immediately had to pull his arm out of the grasp of another just as Ash nailed it in the head with his hammer. “Sam, we can’t run, there’s nowhere to go! We can do this, we just have to keep going.”

A scream erupted from the far side of the group, and Dean turned to see Amelia fighting with a walker, her weapon forgotten on the ground. She turned and locked eyes with him, and they stared at each other for what seemed like eternity as Dean wrestled with the thought of just letting it happen, his anger and frustration from the incident at the river overtaking his need to save everyone. Before he could even make a decision, Bobby swooped in, the matching machete to Dean’s splitting the walker’s head easily. Amelia shook her arm free as the creature fell to the ground, then glared at Dean as she bent to retrieve her knife. Bobby caught Dean’s gaze, and Dean shook his head, turning back to the task at hand.

Just as Dean turned, he felt something wrap around his throat, something strong and rancid. He gasped as his air was cut off, and he managed to turn his head enough to come face to face with the corpse that was trying to bite into his cheek. He dropped his machete and pushed as hard as he could, but his vision was beginning to go black around the edges. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion; he heard Jo yell his name, and out of the corner of his eye, could see Sam grappling with his own monster. He saw Cas struggling to keep his hold on Jo, his cerulean eyes full of fear and panic as she fought against his grip. His heart ached at the thought of never getting to hold his child, and he regretted letting Jo tag along after all. His mind went back to the morning before, the moment that he woke to see Jo in the warm morning light, her soft blonde hair draped over her bare shoulders in waves, the swell of her stomach as she pressed against him. The perfect morning.

The shouts, groans, and the sounds of metal separating flesh and bone were deafening, and Dean had the sudden realization that this was truly the end. It didn’t matter what he did, it didn’t matter that they had saved the world from one apocalypse only to be thrown into another one… In the end, this was how their lives were meant to end. Bloody. Painful. Messy.

Then, suddenly, the pressure was gone. Dean vaguely heard the light twang of a bow releasing, and the hand that had been at this throat slid away. Swiftly, Sam was at his side, breathing heavily as he attempted to keep Dean on his feet. As his vision returned, he looked around and saw that alongside Bobby and Ellen, Garth and Ash…two men had appeared. The small pocket of walkers that remained were quickly destroyed, and a heavy silence descended upon the group.

“Dean, are you okay? Did it bite you?” Sam started looking at Dean’s throat, trying to find what kind of damage had been done.

“I’m fine,” Dean mumbled as he pulled away and moved to grab his machete from where it lay at his feet.

“Don’t pick that up. As a matter of fact, all of ya can drop your weapons.” Dean looked up to see the two men facing them, the dark haired one that had saved him now training his crossbow on Dean.

“What? Are you serious?” Dean was confused; why would this man save him just to hold them all hostage? “We’ve got you outnumbered, why should I listen to you? Why should any of us do what you say?”

“We ain’t outnumbered. So don’t fuckin’ pick it up,” the man growled.The archer’s companion put a hand on his arm.

“Daryl, that’s enough.” The curly haired man slid his knife into the sheath hanging at his hip and held his hands up, “We aren’t here to hurt you. Daryl’s just a little…umm…cautious.”

“Sounds like the boy ain’t cautious, he’s just an ass,” Bobby mumbled, his arm tight around Ellen. Dean couldn’t help but chuckle, especially when the grumpier one of the two strangers turned his glare on Bobby.

“Listen, my name is Aaron. Despite my friend’s outward demeanor, he is actually quite nice. We’re from a camp in Alexandria called the Alexandria Safe Zone. You may have heard of it?” Dean shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. “We are looking for survivors, people that would fit in well in our town…our home. We saw that one of your women is hurt…” his eyes wandered to Jo, still cradled in Cas’ arms, and Dean practically growled. “We would like to help. In exchange for medicine, food and board, you could help us.”

“Why would we help you?” Dean scoffed. “We aren’t looking for a place to stay, we have somewhere to be. So just…let us go, and we’ll let you off the hook.”

“Dean, we need their medicine,” Sam whispered as he leaned in close, his eyes on Daryl’s crossbow. “ _Jo_ needs their medicine.”

Dean glanced over his shoulder at Jo, at the thin sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead, and sighed. “Fine. What do you want from us?”

Daryl took a step forward, “How many walkers have you killed?”

Dean’s eyebrows furrowed, “What?”

“I said, how many walkers have you killed?” Daryl’s eyes shifted around the group before resting back on Dean.

“Including today? Over a hundred, and that’s a low estimate.”

“How many people have you killed?” This time, Daryl’s eyes stayed trained on Dean.

Dean glanced at Sam, then back to Daryl, “Ten.” His answer was low, so quiet that Daryl almost didn’t hear him.

“Why?”

Why? …That was a good question. Back in the day, he and Sam killed monsters, not people. They’d come across some pretty terrible humans in their time hunting, and a few times Dean had wanted to kill them, but they never did. Then the world ended and the monsters became less obvious. Dean had always been protective of his family, but it had hit a totally different level after they were attacked and Jo was threatened. It was then that Dean realized just how far he would go. He had thought he’d known, but the realization that he’d go further had scared him.

“To protect my family from monsters.”

Aaron smiled, “Great, those are the kind of answers we’re looking for. Right, Daryl?” Daryl grunted and lowered his crossbow. “Follow us.”

Cas handed Jo over to Dean, and the group followed Aaron and Daryl in silence. Jo’s head dropped against his shoulder, and Dean worried that they would still be too late. He looked to his left to see Sam walking next to Amelia, though they appeared to mostly be ignoring each other. Amelia caught him looking and glared, then looked forward again. Dean realized it was because he had very clearly chosen to let her die, and he knew he’d have to deal with it later, but at that moment it didn’t matter.

He was pulled from his thoughts as the group emerged from the woods and began walking down a debris strewn street to a huge fence, one that put theirs to shame. Several burned out buildings surrounded the entrance, and Dean could see people standing along the top of the fence as if on watch.

Aaron turned to look at them and smiled, “Welcome to Alexandria.” 

* * *

The gate swung open, and Daryl motioned them through with his crossbow. Dean’s eyes roved over the sharpened stakes that formed a tunnel outside of the gate and finally landed on the small group standing just inside the wall. Aaron walked ahead of them and stopped in front the man that seemed to be in charge, his face void of any initial emotion as he carefully watched the new arrivals trudge to a halt while Aaron quietly explained the situation. Dean’s heart sped up as he heard the gate groan, its hinges complaining loudly as they swung shut. It was too late to turn back now.

“Dean, you can put me down. I can stand,” Jo whispered, her voice strained. Dean looked down at her and doubted the honesty in her statement, but did as she asked. Though she clung tightly to him, she remained upright, her free arm wrapped protectively around her waist. The silence was thick as the two groups stared at each other, and Dean’s eyes widened as even more people began to appear on porches and sat on curbs. He thought their little community was big considering the circumstances; he had been wrong. The man Aaron had been talking to moved towards Dean, his hand resting gently on the pistol strapped to his side.

“Aaron here tells me ya’ll were in a bit of a tight spot back there. Everyone okay?” The man tilted his head slightly as he looked around the group, and Dean wondered if he truly cared or just wanted to make sure no one had been bitten.

“We’re fine.” He watched the man’s eyes drift to Jo’s leg, then back to Dean’s face.

“Sure about that?” The man’s piercing blue eyes locked with Dean’s, narrowing as he tried to read Dean’s expression.

“It’s not a bite, if that’s what you’re wondering. She fell as we tried to cross a collapsed bridge, cut it on a piece of exposed rebar. It’s….it’s infected. We ran out of penicillin.”

Rick gives a short nod, “Michonne, Tara,” he called over his shoulder, “can you take…” -he pointed towards Jo with his chin- “…to Denise?”

Two women walked forward, and the younger one grasped Jo’s arm. Dean tightened his grip, and Jo looked at him, a mixture of fear and exhaustion on her face.

The one holding Jo’s arm offered a smile, “I’m Tara,” she spoke softly. “It’s okay, we have an infirmary.” She shifted her gaze to Dean, “I promise, we’re going to take care of her, okay?”

She began to lead Jo away, and Dean tried to follow, only stopping when the tired looking leader put his hand out and gently pushed against Dean’s chest. Dean released Jo’s arm, but turned his attention back to the older man, his eyes narrowed and his fists clenched at his side. Before he could react, the man removed his hand from Dean’s chest and rested it back on the butt of his pistol. In the distance, Tara and Michonne slowly led Jo down the street, each of them holding an arm to help support her weight.

“She’ll be fine, Dean. I believe these people mean well,” Cas whispered, suddenly by his side. “Listen to what he has to say.”

Dean took a step back, “Fine.”

“My name’s Rick. I understand why you’re upset, but we need to come to an…an understanding. This is our home, and I need to make sure that _my_ family is safe. I hope you can relate to that.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, waiting for Dean to respond. When Dean remained silent, the corner of Rick’s mouth twitched up in a smile. “Yea, I figured as much.” He took a couple of steps closer to Dean, “I’ve got a couple of questions for ya, and then we can move on.”

“I already answered his questions,” Dean growled as he nodded in Daryl’s direction.

“Yea, well,” Rick smiled and looked around at his group of people, “these are _my_ questions. You answer them, I can let you go get cleaned up, get some food in you. We’ve got a house we can set you up in, but you gotta cooperate some. What’s your name?”

“Dean. Dean Winchester.”

“Good. Alright now, Dean, how many walkers have you killed?”

Dean rolled his eyes, “I already told Hawkeye over there. I don’t see why this matters-”

“I said…how many walkers have you killed?” Rick interrupted, the friendly smirk on his face dissolving.

Dean heard Cas clear his throat, Dean’s sign to quit being a smartass. “At least a hundred, give or take. We’ve been lucky, our own community doesn’t get overrun very often,” he offered, hoping that the sharp edge in his tone had smoothed some.

“How many people?”

Dean could feel Rick’s gaze boring into him as he waited for the answer. Dean dropped his head, his eyes on his feet. This was a number Dean wished he didn’t remember, but every single one was burned into his memory. “Ten,” he whispered, only loud enough for Rick, who was standing the closest, to hear.

“Why?”

Dean looked back up and locked eyes with Rick, “To protect my family.”

Rick’s small smile returned and he held his hand out, “That’s something that we can both agree on. Welcome to Alexandria, Winchester.” Dean glanced over Rick’s shoulder in time to see a teenage boy wearing a sheriff’s hat step out onto the porch closest to them, a toddler in his arms. He looked back at Rick, and Rick raised an eyebrow, “You can see why I was tryin’ to be careful.”

Dean looked at Rick’s outstretched hand, then finally grasped it tightly, “Yea, I guess so.”

“Alright, well, let’s see about getting you settled in. I figure we’ll need to talk, but that can wait. Sasha’s going to show you the house you can stay in tonight. Whenever you’re ready, you know where to find me.” They started walking down the street, and Rick stopped at his porch. “Let me know if you need anything.” He took the toddler from the boy and they both walked into the house.

“See, Dean, I told you. They mean well.” Cas was looking around, and Dean couldn’t help but chuckle when Cas winked at a woman passing by, who blushed and hurried away.

“Dude, keep it in your pants. This isn’t the time.”

Cas grinned, “It’s always the time, Dean. It’s the end of the world, we might not get a tomorrow.” His voice lowered, “We almost didn’t.”

Dean’s laughter dissolved, “Yea. That was too close.” It had been too close; the incident on the bridge, getting surrounded. Dean was beginning to wonder if their mission was a foolish one, doomed from the start. His eyes darted back and forth as he looked for where they may have taken Jo. “I wonder where the infirmary is.”

Sasha looked over her shoulder at Dean, “It’s just over there, to your left. You can go on, they won’t mind. The house you’re staying in is just down the street.” She pointed towards a two story, red brick building with a wrap around porch, “It should be enough room for all of you.”

“Keep an eye out, would ya, Cas? I’m going to check on Jo.” Cas nodded, and Dean bounded up the steps into the house Sasha had pointed out as the infirmary.

“Where’s he going?” Cas looked over to find Sam had caught up to him.

“That’s the infirmary, he wanted to check on Jo.” He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sam, his brow furrowed, “What’s wrong with you?”

Sam shook his head, “Nothing, why?”

Cas frowned, “Something seems off. I feel like something is about to happen-”

“Sam?”

Cas was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice, but judging by the look on Sam’s face, it wasn’t a stranger. Sam’s eyes widened, and Cas could sense the change in his demeanor. Whoever it was clearly had been a significant part of Sam’s life, as well as Dean’s.

“Who is that?” Cas asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Instead of answering Cas, Sam turned towards the source of the voice, “Y/N?”


End file.
